


this side of the sun

by LJF



Series: we all want love/we all want honor [4]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: "What do you mean 'I could just stop?'", Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, And she's not afraid to use them, Attempt at Humor, Because He's Zuko, Behind the Scenes, Earthbending & Earthbenders, Episode: s01e09 The Waterbending Scroll, Gen, Metalbending & Metalbenders, Pirates, Sneakiness, Sneaking, Sneaking Around, Sneaking Out, Sneaky Toph Beifong, This marks the begining, Toph Beifong Being Awesome, Toph Beifong Has Knives, Toph Beifong Is Sneaky, Toph Beifong-centric, Zuko (Avatar) is So Done, because if she can bend metal, except not, he doesn't know the MEANING of "done", of Toph's love affair with sharp things, think katara with those ice shards, when she wants to be, why not a bunch of knives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:33:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26644552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LJF/pseuds/LJF
Summary: "These arepirates," Zuko said."It's not safe to bring a lady along," Iroh said.Honestly, have they evenmetToph?
Relationships: Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Toph Beifong & Iroh, Toph Beifong & Zuko, Toph Beifong/Knives
Series: we all want love/we all want honor [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1936222
Comments: 9
Kudos: 325





	this side of the sun

**Author's Note:**

> Just a short little drabble this time. (I'mma be otherwise occupied tomorrow, so you guys get _two_ chapters today.)
> 
> Did you know there weren't any character tags for the Pirate Captain or Oh (the barker)? This was an injustice that _must_ be corrected.

_"South of the ocean, high off a moment."_

_\- SVRCINA, "Runaway W. You"_

The shopping trip, while unplanned, had been a nice break from Sparky's constant raging. Plus, Toph got to stock up on more knives. (It had started out as a matter of availability, but at this point she mostly just did it to get a rise out of Zuko.) She could always use more bending material, and Zuko _still_ had first dibs on all scrap metal. (She wondered which spirit-tale he was recording this time. She already had four or five _novels_ sitting in her bedroom, and those things were _heavy_.)

Of course, everything went south when Zuko overheard a couple of pirates talking about a bald monk and a Water Tribe girl. Jeez, couldn't Sparky take _one_ day off from this whole _Avatar-hunting_ business?

"Why can't _I_ come?" Toph whined. She knew she was acting like a child, but she _really_ wanted to come along. How often would she get a chance to hang out with _actual pirates_?

But _noooo_. For once, Zuko and Uncle had decided to team up _against_ her.

"Lady Toph, these are _pirates_ ," Zuko said.

"I'm afraid it's not safe to bring a lady along," Iroh said.

Did they even _know_ her?

"I can take care of myself!" She stomped her foot (careful not to bend the ship in the process). "I'm not some helpless little blind girl!"

"I never thought you were," Uncle said, trying to act like _he_ was the reasonable one. "I'm more worried about them than I am you."

" _I can tell you're ly-ing_ ," she said in a sing-song voice.

"Toph," Uncle Iroh said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "This is not _about_ you. I wouldn't trust those men around _any_ woman."

"Even Azula?"

Zuko snorted.

"Yes, even Azula," Uncle said, nodding. "Although in her case, I really _would_ be more worried about what would happen to _them_ if they tried anything with _her_."

"We're wasting _time_ ," Zuko said, crossing his arms. "Come _on_ , Uncle."

"Alright, fine, go without me," Toph said, stepping back.

" _Thank you_ , Toph," Uncle said, and the two of them climbed aboard the smaller boat and sailed away.

She smirked. They didn't _really_ think they were getting off _that_ easily, did they?

Contrary to popular belief, Toph _did_ know how to travel inconspicuously. Zuko and the pirates were following the river, so she did the same, staying behind the tree line. She used her bending to move faster, but kept the sound muffled and the dust down so it wasn't obvious from afar.

She stayed in hiding, observing as Zuko and his new 'buddies' captured the Water Tribe girl.

_'I'll save you from the pirates'? What does he think this is, some high seas adventure story?_

.......And now he was monologuing. Just _wonderful_. ( _Oma and Shu, did he_ rehearse _this?_ ) Toph held back her laughter-- if he realized she was there, he'd send her back, and this was _way_ too interesting to pass up.

From what she could tell, the sun was rising (or had risen fairly recently). She _did_ feel a little tired, but she'd taken a quick power nap while Zuko and the pirates were searching for the Avatar and his friends, so she should be fine for another few hours. She'd probably crash as soon as they got back to the ship.

She overheard the Water Tribe boy trying to _persuade_ the pirates to break their deal with Zuko. _Smart move, Wise Guy._

Zuko, of course, did not find this nearly as amusing.

He and his soldiers started fighting with the pirates. She stayed out of the way, knowing they could handle themselves. But then something hit the ground, and everyone started running around oddly. She concentrated, focusing on the dust in the air.

 _Did someone just...... drop a_ smoke _bomb?_ It didn't bother _her_ , of course, but for seeing people, it was a _big_ problem. _Guess I'd better make sure Sparky and Uncle don't get themselves killed._ But what could she do that didn't involve running into the fray and trapping everybody in a bunch of rocks?

That was when she remembered she still had a bag on her. A bag containing lots of _knives_.

Carefully, she threw a couple of the knives, manipulating them to knock any hands that got too close to Zuko or his men. One of them grazed through the Avatars's ropes, cutting him loose. _Oops._

Eventually, the Avatar and his friends managed to escape the melee and sailed off in the pirates' boat. _Nice one._

She didn't want to interfere in Zuko's fight with the captain, knowing another blade in their midst would be the _opposite_ of helpful.

Luckily, Uncle was there with another one of his proverbs. Or not.

.........And then the pirates sailed off on _Zuko's_ boat. _Fantastic._

"My boat!" Toph heard Zuko yell in horror as the boat fell over the waterfall.

 _Whoa, Sparky, I know you're annoyed, but don't take it out on the poor pai sho_ tile.

"What are we going to do _now_?" Zuko gestured towards the river. "Without a boat, it'll take us _forever_ to get back to the ship!"

_That sounds like my cue._

"Did I hear some say they needed a lift?" Toph stepped out from behind the trees. In a couple of swift motions, she'd raised a crude boat from the dirt.

"Lady Toph, wh-"

"It is good to see you, Toph," Uncle Iroh said, interrupting his nephew.

"I guess you dunderheads really _are_ useless without me, huh?" Toph smirked.

"I suppose so," Uncle agreed.

_"Mind of a drifter, never been safer."_

_\- SVRCINA, "Runaway W. You"_

**Author's Note:**

> Now, as to how they managed to get Toph's giant stone bowl _up_ the river? I'll leave that part up to your imagination, alright?
> 
> Toph, not every time someone attempts to protect you is because they think you're a helpless little blind girl, okay?
> 
> Apparently, no matter what universe, Zuko is destined to end up with a girl who throws knives. (Also, the more I write in this universe, the more random hobbies/talents Toph picks up. What's she up to now? Regular earthbending, seismic sense, (Zuko whispering,) her own writing system, possible lavabending, pai sho, metalbending, and now _knife throwing_. (Other than the canonical ones (plus metalbending), none of these were even _in_ my series outline!) Jeez, Sparky, why don't you ever do anything half this interesting?)  
> (Zuko would like it to be known that he _also_ does cool stuff. He firebends _and_ uses swords _and_ transcribes stories in Toph's made-up language _and_ sneaks around like a ninja _and_ recites dramatic monologues _and_ hunts down the Avatar _and_ totally owns Zhao in Agni Kais, what more do I want from him?)
> 
> Come hit me up on [tumblr](https://ljf613.tumblr.com/)!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] this side of the sun](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28356306) by [watery_melon_baller](https://archiveofourown.org/users/watery_melon_baller/pseuds/watery_melon_baller)




End file.
